These days, many consumers are savvy enough to know they may be handed a counterfeit $50 or $100 bill, but experts are warning consumers to be on the lookout for fake $5 and $10 bills as well.

The Bank of Canada unveiled new security features to $20 bills last year, along with $50 and $100 bills in an effort to make them more difficult to copy.

"Counterfeiting rates have been increasing in recent years around the world because of easier access to cheaper, better technology," said Ginette Crew, a senior analyst at the Bank of Canada.

In 2003, 443,000 counterfeit bills worth $13 million were confiscated in Canada. Now that $50 and $100 bills are harder to copy, counterfeiters are moving down to smaller denominations.

"We have seen some very credible counterfeit $5 bills, $10 bills," said Andrew McTaggart at Adlertech International.

CTV's Pat Foran handed McTaggart a fake $5, which he says he couldn't identify as a counterfeit bill right away.

"If you look at it straight on, it looks like a very decent little five," McTaggart said. It took a closer inspection to find the bill's flaws.

According to the Bank of Canada, there are two security features on newer $5 and $10 bills that consumers should look for.

First, there's a group of three maple leaves to the left of the number 5 or 10 on the right side of the bill. If you tilt the note, the leaves should change from very faint to a shiny gold colour.

Second, when you look at the bill at eye level and then tilt it, a "hidden" 5 or 10 appears in the broad band to the left of the portrait.

Like the new $100, the newer $5 and $10 bills have a few security features that are only visible under ultra-violet light. For example, the Canadian coat of arms glows blue under the light. Security fibres glow red only, not red and yellow like they do on the $100 bill.

"People have a tendency to be very careful with 100s and 50s because it's a significant amount of money, but it's really important to check the 5s and 10s too," said Crew.

It's advised that consumers become familiar with the security features of each bill. To watch a Bank of Canada video on how to spot fake bills, called: Secure paper money: It's in your hands!

"If you suspect something is unusual or wrong about either the bill that you've got or, the way in which someone is trying to give you that particular bill, you can politely refuse to accept it," McTaggart says.

That might be the best idea, since banks won't exchange counterfeit money as some believe.

Foran said he talked to a cab driver this week who admitted that when he spots a fake bill, he tries to pass it on to an unsuspecting customer as soon as he can.

Foran said the cabbie justified his move by saying he couldn't afford to take the financial hit, and that it's up to everyone to check their own money.

"The bottom line, it's not 100s, 50s and 20s anymore," Foran said. "It's 10s and 5s and you have to check them because if you're caught with fake money, you can't get it back."